Amidst a fiery political landscape, Mike Deller opens up a conversation on the contentious issue of national flag etiquette and its implications during significant political events. His incisive take challenges the thin line between honoring tradition and appearing respectful during transitions of power. In the Capitol, Pete Hegseth faces a gauntlet of questions and interruptions, advocating for a Pentagon rooted in traditional ‘warrior culture’ while handling critiques from both sides of the political spectrum. Discover the nuances behind the protest disruptions and delve into deeper discussions about gender roles within the military hierarchy. Mike also shares personal anecdotes including
SPEAKER 05 :
He’s the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here’s Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 06 :
I just saw a video clip as I walked into the studio from The Office. Remember The Office with, what’s his name? Oh, doggone it, I’m drawing a blank. Steve Carell. Great TV series and really groundbreaking. And they had a creepy character named Creed. And Creed goes up to The Office good guy, Jim. And the caption to the clip says, every conservative right now. And Creed would be the conservative. And he goes over behind Jim, and he kind of rubs his shoulders, and he just says, one more week. And Jim has got that startled, befuddled look on his face that he always had when he looked into the camera. Less than a week. It’s Tuesday, January 14th. We’re counting down. Our national nightmare is coming to an end. Our national train wreck, what did J.D. Vance call the Biden presidency? The dumpster fire is about to be extinguished. Meanwhile, the real flames are still devouring California. There are all kinds of drama about, you know, how dare you criticize the L.A. Fire Department? How dare you criticize Democrats? You’re a racist if you do so. They’ve managed to have a healthy dose of race baiting injected into the debate over why they can’t put the fires out in California, in Los Angeles County. More on that in just a moment. But back to the inauguration for a second because I’m dying to know what you think about something. And I’m bothered by this because I’m bothered that I’m not bothered that the flags for Jimmy Carter, which are lowered to half staff per tradition and protocol. would be raised to full staff for the Trump inauguration. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already ordered U.S. flags in the Lone Star State to be flown at full staff on Inauguration Day. Now, Biden, of course, issued a directive, and it’s kind of, I don’t know how many days it is. I want to say it’s 30 days. I believe 30 days after a president dies, we lower flags to half staff. And you know my old adage about how it all depends on whose ox is being gored. When the day comes when Trump passes away in 100 years, we would want the flags lowered to half-staff for 30 days, regardless of an inauguration. And here’s my glitch. Here’s the obstacle. Here’s my blind spot, perhaps. And you straighten me out if I’m missing the boat here. It seems to me that the flags at half-staff during Trump’s inauguration doesn’t diminish Trump’s inauguration one bit. Everybody knows why the flags are at half-staff. Now, I bounced this off my buddy Mark Davis in Dallas this morning, and Mark said, well, it’s about the optics, and Trump is always about optics. Always. He wants to make sure everything looks good, feels good, sounds good, is presented right. He’s a showman. That’s who he is. And Mark’s point was President Trump probably feels that to Trump haters, flags that have staff are symbolic of the incoming presidency. I mean, last night, Jimmy Kimmel, through his tears, called Trump our alleged future president. He’s not even the future president. He’s our alleged future president. So I think Trump is looking at it saying, look, for the flags to be at half staff on Inauguration Day, we’re giving the Jimmy Kimmel’s of the world what they want. They want a symbol of what they think should be our national mourning over my reelection. And so the flags ought to be at full staff. And look, I understand and I know that Jimmy Carter was clearly one of the worst presidents in American history. I appreciate the drama and the debate about what kind of person he was. He did a lot of good with Habitat for Humanity. You know, I don’t have any personal opinion of him. The man has passed away. And, you know, I don’t like talking about the dead quite bluntly. But it does seem disrespectful to Carter’s memory, and maybe to Democrats, for an expectation that we would raise the flags on Inauguration Day. And again, maybe I have a blind spot. I am absolutely willing to stipulate that I’m out to lunch on this one. So I’m going to turn to you at 800-655-MIKE and find out what you think as we kick off things in the Relief Factor studio for a Tuesday, January 14th, 2025, 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Do you care? Does it bother you? I mean, it’s one more talking point for the Trump-hating universe to blast him. Look how petty he is. is look how cruel he’s been look how mean-spirited he’s been you know jimmy carter just died keep the flags at half staff even on inauguration day or do you think he’s right it doesn’t look good let’s not give the loony left what they want and let’s raise the flags to full staff for that one day only what do you think let’s find out 800-655-6453 hope you join us I want to welcome some brand new partners to the Mike Gallagher show like Equity Protect. And this is a big, big deal. Your home’s title is often the most valuable thing you own. Next generation criminal technology is more advanced than ever. I’ve been an identity theft victim. It is no fun. 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SPEAKER 05 :
He’s the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor studios, here’s Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 06 :
We are a few short days away from the 47th president of the United States being inaugurated. As part of this transition, he, of course, gets his picks confirmed. There’s a confirmation process, and Pete Hegseth is tasked with running the Pentagon. And admittedly, a bit of a… unconventional pick. Let’s take you to Capitol Hill, where Pete Hegseth moments ago delivered his opening statement. We’re only on a few seconds delay. I believe there might have been a disruption. Let’s listen in together in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Here’s Pete Hegseth.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you, Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and all the members of this committee for this opportunity today. I’m grateful for and have learned a great deal from this advice and consent process. Our founders knew what they were doing. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with this committee, senators from both parties, to secure our nation. I want to thank the former senator from Minnesota, Norm Coleman, for his mentorship and friendship in this process. and the incoming National Security Advisor, Congressman, and more importantly for our purposes, Colonel Mike Walz for his powerful words. I’m grateful to them both. Thank you to my incredible wife, Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process. I love you, sweetheart, and I thank God for you. And as Jenny and I pray together every morning, All glory, regardless of the outcome, belongs to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abounds each day. May his will be done. Thank you to my father, Brian, and mother, Penny, as well as our entire family, including our seven wonderful kids, Gunner, Jackson, Peter Boone, Kensington, Luke, Rex. Sorry, it’s a lot of them. And Gwendolyn. Their future safety and security is in all of our hands. And to all the troops and veterans watching and here in the room, Navy SEALs, Green Berets, soldiers, pilots, sailors, Marines, Gold Stars, and more, too many friends to name. Officers, enlisted, black and white, young and old, men and women, all Americans, all warriors. This hearing is for you. Thank you for figuratively and literally having my back.
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And there we go.
SPEAKER 06 :
There’s the first outburst. A guy with a big white beard being escorted out as he disrupted Pete Hegseth’s opening comments.
SPEAKER 04 :
a swift reaction to that outburst and state that similar interruptions will be treated in like manner. Mr. Hegseth, you may continue.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, as I’ll say again, thank you for figuratively and literally having my back. I pledge to do the same for all of you. It’s an honor to come before this committee today as President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Office of Secretary of Defense. Two months ago, 77 million Americans gave President Trump a powerful mandate for change to put America first at home and abroad. I want to thank President Trump for his faith in me and his selfless leadership for our republic. The troops have no better commander in chief than Donald Trump. As I’ve said to many of you in private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability, and readiness.
SPEAKER 06 :
Here we go again. More interruptions. There’s a guy that’s wearing a pink jacket. Looks like he’s got a captain in Tennille hat on. How do they let him walk in and not have suspicions of him?
SPEAKER 03 :
Returning the Pentagon back to war fighting. That’s it. That’s my job.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mr. Hicks, suspend your remarks. Let me just say this. The Capitol Police are going to remove immediately individuals that are disrupting the hearing. I see a pattern attempted to be inflicted on the committee, and we’re simply not going to tolerate that. You may proceed.
SPEAKER 03 :
To bring back warfighting, if confirmed, I’m going to work with President Trump and this committee To one, restore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force. In doing so, we will reestablish trust in our military, addressing the recruiting crisis, the retention crisis, and readiness crisis in our ranks.
SPEAKER 06 :
members of the security force will remove members this guy’s getting being dragged out like he’s being hogtied unbelievable three disruptions in the first two minutes of pete hegseth’s opening remarks you may you may the strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose not our differences number two
SPEAKER 03 :
We’re going to rebuild our military, always matching threats to capabilities. This includes reviving our defense industrial base, reforming the acquisitions process. As you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, no more valley of death for new defense companies. Modernizing our nuclear triad, ensuring the Pentagon can pass an audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. And number three, we’re going to reestablish deterrence. First and foremost, we will defend our homeland. our borders and our skies. Second, we will work with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese. And finally, we will responsibly end wars to ensure that we prioritize our resources to reorient to larger threats. All right, let’s hold it there.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don’t want you to miss a word. We’ll pause it there. 13 past the hour. We’re going to, you know, pay a couple bills and then get right back into Peter. And incidentally, can I just get this off my chest? After the third interruption, Chairman Wicker should have cleared the room. And going forward, if this is what we’re going to have to go through with all these confirmation hearings and these lunatics from Code Pink and all these other whack jobs are going to infiltrate the hearing rooms and scream and screech and make fools of themselves, how about you not have anybody in the gallery? Pretend it’s COVID. Let’s pretend it’s COVID time. You know, they love that. They loved empty rooms, do everything virtually. You don’t need to have a gallery. And if this is what these nuts are going to do, then don’t give them the privilege of sitting in the room with him. Let his family be behind him. Let the handful of people that can be trusted be in the room. And clear it out of all the goofballs. Because all that’s going to be, and incidentally, all these interruptions, I guarantee you that means he’s the right pick. And there’s going to be a more resolute effort to get him confirmed with these Radical lunatics attempting to disrupt the proceedings. You’re not going to miss a word. We’ll pick it up right where Pete Hegseth left off. He is the Secretary of Defense nominee for the president. The incoming president of the United States. There’s going to be a morning after. We’re a few days away from a new dawn. The golden era begins. The Trump administration is almost here. Sit tight. We’ve just got to go through a few more days of this crap. And incidentally, those protesters, the code pink types, isn’t that a great metaphor for what we’ve suffered through for the last four years? Well, get ready to turn the page, because you know what? They lost, and they can’t stand it. Welcome in to a Tuesday episode of the Mike Gallagher Show. More coming up. Stay with us. There’s no better time than right now to call my friends at PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition to start your journey to a healthier you. As I hear from you about how PhD Weight Loss and Nutrition has changed your life, I know that each one of us has had our own reasons for starting. I started my journey because I gained enough weight and was ready to make a change. I sat down with Dr. Ashley Lucas, and like they say, the rest was history. I lost 53 pounds, and I’ve kept it off. We all have different reasons for starting. Call 864-644-1900, 864-644-1900, or just go to MyPhDWeightLoss.com, MyPhDWeightLoss.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
Mike Gallagher.
SPEAKER 06 :
We’re continuing with Pete Hegseth’s testimony. It’s already been interrupted three times, and we’re a little bit ahead of you, but I don’t want you to miss a word because he gets really into the media and the way he was smeared. So let’s take you back to Capitol Hill where Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth is testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
SPEAKER 03 :
We can no longer count on reputational deterrence. We need real deterrence. The Department of Defense under Donald Trump will achieve peace through strength. And in pursuing these America first national security goals will remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional. Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans. We are not Democrats. We are American warriors. Our standards will be high, and they will be equal, not equitable. That’s a very different word. We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapons system, every pilot’s fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership or promotion purely because based on performance, readiness, and merit. Leaders at all levels will be held accountable, and war fighting and lethality and the readiness of the troops and their families will be our only focus. This has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at Princeton University in 2001. I joined the military because I love my country and felt an obligation to defend it. I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and on the streets of Washington, DC, many of which are with me here today. This includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens. And Muslim allies, I helped immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. Because when I took off the uniform, my mission never stopped. Now, it is true and has been acknowledged that I don’t have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years. But as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials, whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives. And where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives. My only special interest is the warfighter. deterring wars and, if called upon, winning wars by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight. We let them win, and we bring them home. Like many of my generation, I’ve been there. I’ve led troops in combat. I’ve been on patrol for days. I’ve pulled a trigger downrange, heard bullets whiz by, flex-cuffed insurgents, called in close air support, led medevacs, dodged IEDs, pulled out dead bodies. and knelt before a battlefield cross. This is not academic for me. This is my life. I led then, and I will lead now. Ask anyone who’s ever worked for me or with me. I know what I don’t know. My success as a leader, and I very much look forward to discussing my organization’s successes at Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. I’m incredibly proud of the work that we’ve done. But my success as a leader has always been setting a clear vision, hiring people smarter and more capable than me, empowering them to succeed, holding everyone accountable, and driving toward clear metrics. Build the plan, work the plan, and then work harder than everyone else around you. I’ve sworn an oath to the Constitution before, and if confirmed, I will proudly do it again. This time, for the most important deployment of my life. I pledge to be a faithful partner to this committee, taking input and respecting oversight. We share the same goals. A ready, lethal military, the health and well-being of our troops, and a strong and secure America. Thank you for the time, and I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. All right, there you go.
SPEAKER 06 :
That’s Pete Hegseth testifying before the Armed Services Committee. A lot of text messages about the interruptions. Illinois writes, don’t clear the gallery. Arrest them all and put them in jail. Drop the hammer on the stupid. Can’t disagree with that, Illinois. Pennsylvania writes, hmm, is this an insurrection? Trying to stop and interfere with the normal functioning of government and Congress? Hmm. And finally from Minnesota, sums it up perfectly, we don’t call them the loony left for nothing. True. What did you make of what you just heard from Pete Hegseth? We’ll kind of go back and forth. We’ll dip in. We’ve got a lot of breaking news, a lot of news coming out of California. But I always want to get your take on everything that’s happening in the world around us. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. I hope you join us. Christmas means giving, and for my money, Christmas means MyPillow. Make it a MyPillow Christmas for somebody on your list because the Christmas extravaganza is well underway. Because a big box retailer canceled an order, Mike Lindell has thousands of MyPillows to move. Well, he wants to pass the savings on to you, so check out this offer. You can order a standard classic MyPillow, and it’s normally $49.98 for just $14.88. with promo code MikeG. Limit of 10. This is the pillow that started it all, the pillow that never goes flat, stays nice and cool all through the night. You can throw it in the washer and the dryer as often as you want. You can get a classic standard MyPillow for $14.88 with promo code MikeG. A queen size, normally $69.98, you’ll get it for just $18.88 with promo code MikeG. Or a king size, Normally $79.98. You can order it for $19.88 apiece. Limit $10, please, during Mike’s incredible Christmas extravaganza from MyPillow.com. Look, if you haven’t been to the site in a while, you can get all your Christmas shopping done by going to MyPillow.com. Look for the Mike Gallagher Specials Square. Click on that box, and then with any order you place, enter the promo code MikeG, and you’ll save big. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. MyPillow.com. Promo code MikeG. Or call 800-928-6034. 800-928-6034. It’s the Christmas extravaganza sale going on right now at MyPillow.
SPEAKER 05 :
He’s the happy conservative warrior. From the Relief Factor Studios, here’s Mike Deller.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I’m reporting for duty and I’m happy to report to you that Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s defense secretary nominee, is doing just fine on Capitol Hill, despite being shrieked at by the likes of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. There were three interruptions that three protesters or three protests that interrupted his introductory statement. Just typical lunatics from Code Pink. You know, the one guy that was up wearing this pink jacket like a captain’s hat. He looked like the captain from Captain and Tennille. Bright pink. Would that not be a clue to the authorities that this guy might cause a disruption? He may not be a serious fellow. I mean, did they think he was going to break out in song? Love, love will keep us together. Instead, he was shrieking about Pete Hegseth is a fascist and he’s an extremist. Three interruptions. I got an idea, Chairman Vicker. After the third interruption, how about you clear the gallery and let Pete Hegseth’s family and important dignitaries and officials be in the room and clear out all the rest of the riffraff? You know, I wonder if that’s an insurrection to interfere with a governmental proceeding that way, with shrieking and screaming. But speaking of shrieking, Kirsten Gillibrand had a little bit of shrieking of her own to do moments ago as she was interrogating and haranguing and lecturing and hectoring Pete Hegseth.
SPEAKER 01 :
I have many concerns about your record and particularly your public statements because they are so hurtful to the men and women who are currently serving in the U.S. military, harmful to morale, harmful to good order and discipline. If you are saying that women shouldn’t be serving in the military, and I’m going to read you your quotes because the quotes themselves are terrible. You will have to change how you see women to do this job well. And I don’t know if you are capable of that. So I want to press on these issues that my colleague, Jean Shaheen, brought up because she said it so well. So first of all, you answered your questionnaire. Do you believe that any American who wants to serve their country in the military and can meet objective standards set by the military should be allowed to serve without limitation? You’ve said yes to that question. But then in all of these other circumstances, you’ve denigrated active duty service members. We have hundreds, hundreds of women who are currently in the infantry. lethal members of our military serving in the infantry, but you degrade them. You say, we need moms, but not in the military, especially in combat units. So specific to Senator Cotton’s question, because Senator Cotton was giving you layups to differentiate between different types of combat. And specifically, as Secretary, would you take any action to reinstitute the combat arms exclusion for female service members, knowing full well you have hundreds of women doing that job right now? And the standards, your two-mile run, Tom, is about the Army combat fitness test. It is not the requirements to have an MOS 11 Bravo, which is the infantry. These are the requirements today for people serving in the industry, men and women. They are gender neutral, and they are… Very difficult to meet. They have not been reduced in any way. And our combat units, our infantry is lethal. So please explain specifically because you will be in charge of 3 million personnel. It is a big job. And when you make these public statements, and I get you were not Secretary of Defense then. I get you were on TV. I get you were helping veterans. I get it was a different job. But most recently, you said this in November of 2024, knowing full well you might have been named as Secretary of Defense. So please explain these types of statements because they’re brutal and they’re mean and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this country.
SPEAKER 03 :
Senator, I appreciate your comments, and I would point out I’ve never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform past and present. My critiques, Senator, recently and in the past, and from personal experience, have been instances where I’ve seen standards lowered, and you mentioned 11 Alpha, 11 Bravo, MOS, places in units, and it The book that has been referenced multiple times here, The War on Warriors, I spent months talking to active duty service members, men and women, low ranks, high ranks, combat arms and not combat arms, and what each and every one of them told me, and which personal instances have shown me, is that in ways direct, indirect, Overt and subtle, standards have been changed inside infantry training units, ranger school, infantry battalions to ensure that commanders meet quotas. to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women who are incredibly capable of meeting that standard.
SPEAKER 01 :
Commanders do not have to meet quotas for the infantry. Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry. That does not exist. It does not exist. And your statements are creating the impression that these exist, because they do not. They are not quotas. We want the most lethal force. But I’m telling you, having been here for 15 years listening to testimony about men and women in combat and the type of operations that were successful in Afghanistan and in Iraq, women were essential for many of those units. When Ranger units went in to find where are the terrorists hiding in Afghanistan or in Iraq, if they had a woman in the unit, they could go in, talk to the women in a village, say where are the terrorists hiding, where are the weapons hiding, and get crucial information information to make sure that we can win that battle so just you cannot denigrate women in general and your statements do that we don’t want women in the military especially in combat what a terrible statement so please do not deny that you’ve made those statements you have we take the responsibility of standards very seriously and we will work with you i’m equally distressed you would not meet with me before this hearing We could have covered all of this before you came here. So I could get to the 15 other questions that I want to get to. So women, you have denigrated.
SPEAKER 06 :
You have also denigrated… All right, so you get the tone of it. And I’m really intrigued. I’ve been looking at her background because I’m sitting here trying to understand when she served in the military since she’s going to lecture Pete Hegseth on military matters. As far as I understand… He is a decorated war veteran. He is a guy who served with valor and… I’m looking at Kirsten Gillibrand’s background. In 1984, she graduated from Emma Willard School, an all-women’s private school in Troy, New York. Then she enrolled at Dartmouth, where she majored in Asian Studies. She studied in both Beijing and Taiwan. She graduated magna cum laude in 1988 at Dartmouth. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. During college, she was an intern for Senator Al D’Amato. She passed the bar exam in 1991. I don’t see anywhere where she was active duty. I just find it galling that somebody who never served their country in the military can lecture a war hero like Pete Hegg said. But look, this is going to be part of the process. And it shouldn’t shock us. It shouldn’t surprise us. This is what the Democrats are going to do. And Pete Hegseth is holding his own and doing absolutely fine. You want to hear Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut grill Pete Hegseth? Yep, for that. Do we have the stomach for that? You know, we’ve got this internal debate going on. Tracy loves all of it. She wants to hear all of it. My producer thinks that people are just loving the back and forth. And Christian and Eric are like, I don’t know. We’ve got wildfires. We’ve got Newsom. We’ve got… A Philadelphia Eagles fan who might lose his job because he yelled at a Green Bay Packers fan and insulted her with some horrible, horrible language. That’s kind of an interesting topic. Got a lot of breaking news. I will tell you that the female that I have on my team, the lone woman on the Mike Gallagher Show team, says… A woman shrieking and screeching at Pete Hegseth makes the case that not all women are good for the military. I didn’t say it. It was a woman. It was not me. But somebody just texted, it sounds like Kirsten Gillibrand is about to burst into tears. That doesn’t exactly make a strong case that any woman can serve in the military. That’s kind of what Tracy just said. 800-655-MIKE, 800-655-6453. Welcome aboard. It’s Tuesday. We’ve got a few more days left in the Biden administration. We’re going to take you to D.C. for the inauguration on Monday. But look, we’ve got just a ton of stuff to cover today and not enough time to do it. You want to hear Richard Blumenthal? Give me a quick text poll at 1-800-655-MIKE. Because this guy is particularly, in my mind, reprehensible. So I go from talking about having the gall to have never served your country… and grilling somebody like Pete Hegseth, then we go to a guy who lied about serving his country, who’s guilty of stolen valor, who pretended to be in battle and in combat and never was, betraying his fellow veterans, Richard Blumenthal. And he’s going to lecture Pete Hegseth? Oh, maybe we’ve got to pull up some popcorn and pull up a chair and listen to that. Stick around. We’ll decide. You give me your vote. 800-655-MIKE. Let me know if you want to hear from Skeletor out of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal or not. 800-655-MIKE. 800-655-6453. Call or text. One call does it all on the Mike Gallagher Show.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Mike Gallagher. Every day, Mike visits with Mark Davis. Morning host on 660 AM, The Answer in Dallas. Here’s today’s M&M experience.
SPEAKER 07 :
1963 vintage Beatles. And money, that’s what I want. This is what Mike Gallagher said as he walked into a bank yesterday for what should have been the most routine, un-talk show worthy. Look, 53 things are going on. And as we showed the audience yesterday in doing 10 minutes of land man talk, which I heard about. I finished it last night.
SPEAKER 06 :
Wowza.
SPEAKER 07 :
We do a wide variety of things. It’s okay. It’s part of our charm. Just hang with us. We’ll get to the end of the world any minute now. We will chronicle the apocalypse for you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Armageddon at 745. Got it done. Got it done.
SPEAKER 07 :
But for now, you walk into the bank and as will sometimes happen, you wanted some cash and it was a smidge above what the ATM would give you. So it involved in interacting with a real human being. Correct. And the story goes from there.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, let’s first stipulate, and I think you’ll agree with this, things happen to me that don’t happen to anybody else. Or when they do, they just become ramped up in the drama. No, but think about this. You and I have had a lot of time on this planet. We’ve circled around the sun quite a bit between the two of us. In your lifetime, have you ever walked into your own bank, seen a teller who knows you, you withdraw money, and she wants you to tell her how you’re going to spend your money? Does that ever happen to you in your life? No. Okay, thank you. And I can guarantee you, I think it hasn’t happened to most people. And this went viral when I posted it on X yesterday. I’ll bet. So I know people can relate to it. And there were a couple of people defending the teller, and I can’t quite understand the defense. We’re the officials.
SPEAKER 07 :
We’re the official talk shows of bank employees, so we’re going to need some help to explain what happened to Mike. So you go up to the window and?
SPEAKER 06 :
I stroll in, and again, as you said, the withdrawal amount that I wanted to withdraw was over what the ATM limit is, the daily ATM limit. It doesn’t matter if you go five times. Once you hit that limit, you can’t take any more out. So I go, well, I’ve got to go in. You remember the commercial, have you ever been to the bank? The little boy who says, Daddy, are you going to go to the bank? Have you ever been? been to the bank and it was a great reminder. I thought the same thing. I go up to this lady, very polite. I said, and I’ll tell you the amount so people know what we’re talking about here because that matters because I do think there’s supposed to be an accounting for transactions to the government of over
SPEAKER 07 :
of 10 000 or more well sure that’s the one thing that the one asterisk that i was going to to identify is if i go in and i and i want 10 grand maybe there’s paperwork so that i’m not money laundering or paying off a cartel i don’t even like that because as you’ve said doggone it it’s my money and none of their business but you know for at that level okay maybe
SPEAKER 06 :
But I think it’s a piece of federal legislation. I believe that every transaction you do at the bank, 10,000 or more, there’s a notification sent to the feds. I’m almost positive I’m right on that. But nonetheless, this wasn’t 10. It was four. OK, four thousand dollars. I wanted to take it from and, you know, in a quick story, people before think people think I’m a real life daddy warbucks. I’m not a gazillionaire, but I had an account at a bank in New York that’s a national well-known bank. When I moved to Florida, there was another branch that was even more convenient, so I opened up a second account. So I have two accounts. I have an account at these two banks. And once in a while, I move money between those two accounts. One account’s getting low, you know, just normal stuff. Can you do that on your phone in 30 seconds like I did? No, because when it’s like two competing banks, it takes like days to do that. Internal transfers are instantaneous. But the wire transfer is institutional.
SPEAKER 01 :
Right, and I didn’t want to wait.
SPEAKER 06 :
Why not? I don’t want to get the stupid money walking across this. Right. I don’t want to check. I don’t want to check to bounce. I want to get the money over. So I go in. Hey, I’d like this a little bit. I told the lady that’s a little more than the ATM. So I’m here. Can I get four thousand dollars? So she counts out four thousand dollars after she counts it out and she keeps she hasn’t given it to me yet. She says, OK, and just what what exactly will this transaction be used for?
SPEAKER 07 :
And she meant it because I was part of it was I thought they were just being this is Florida. People are folksy, just like in Texas. What are you going to buy you a truck?
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, no, this was a policy question, she said. And I said, pardon me. She said, I almost my my head. The smoke was starting to come out of the back of my head. I said, pardon me. She said, can you tell me what this transaction will be used for? And I was too flummoxed. I was too dumbfounded to think on my feet and say, I’m using it for none of your business, USA. None of your business.
SPEAKER 07 :
One of the most famous, can you put this on Twitter? And at least half of the first hundred were, you should have told her, hookers and blow.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hookers and blow, yeah. Or the cartels. I’m sending it to the cartels. Go full hunter. Yeah. But I was so flabbergasted that I told her, you know what I said? I told her the truth. I said, well, I’m taking it out of this bank because I’ve got another account over here and I’m going to take it over to that bank and put it in there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Did you beat yourself to death in the parking lot afterward for saying I should not have answered that question?
SPEAKER 06 :
I should have told her to go pound salt. So now let’s be pragmatic. What would the wrong answer have been? In other words, what answer could I give her about my own stinking money that would have precluded her from giving me my own money? Help me get the story in order. Had she given it to you already? No. No. She kept it on her side of the window. She had counted it out, but she hadn’t given it to me yet.
SPEAKER 07 :
So I’m thinking… She’s dangling it in front of your face.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, like a carrot on a stick. You want your own money? You want your money? Oh, what are you going to do with it? You going to go to the store? You going to go… What am I supposed to say to her that would have… Prevent it. You know what I’m thinking today? And I’m serious. I’m still mad about it, as you can tell. I’m going back today to the bank. I’m going to pull a Karen. See a manager. No, ask for the bank manager and just say, can you explain to me why that happened? Because I don’t know. I wish I knew. Can you help me understand, Mark, why she would ask that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. The text lines are springing to life.
SPEAKER 06 :
Mine too.
SPEAKER 07 :
My number is 800-655-MIKE. What’s yours? 800-655-MIKE. Mine, of course, is 866-660-5759. Same as the call-in number. Right. Same as the call-in number. 800-655-6453. Very good. One says banks are required to do a soft notification. Wow. Above 3,000 and written notification with filled out paperwork at 10,000. A soft notification.
SPEAKER 06 :
What does that mean?
SPEAKER 07 :
What?
SPEAKER 06 :
A soft notification to the government? To withdraw your own money? At 3,000.
SPEAKER 07 :
Three thousand or more. And if you had said and it’s kind of funny pound saying none of your business, you don’t have to do that. But just if this were to happen to me, listen, big talker, if that happens to me today, I’m going to say I’m going to try this and say, well, that’s not something I feel inclined to disclose to you since it’s my money. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER 06 :
I wonder if that puts up a red flag. It probably does.
SPEAKER 07 :
I probably let away in handcuffs at that point.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, here’s the one that’s the most infuriating explanation. And I resent this in my year number 65 on this planet. You think he’s crotchety before. Mike, this is from Dallas. You have reached the age where the bank tellers are looking out for you from scammers. Now, first of all, I am not decrepit. I am not being wheeled into the bank and barely speaking. Do I look 100? I mean, I’m not kidding you. I know I’m going to be 65. You are vigorous and youthful. Do I look like an old retired person that needs help from a scammer? No. And she knows me. I’m a customer. I got…
SPEAKER 07 :
Look, I’ve got a lot of money in that bank. But let’s say you’re 93 and scarcely coherent and you struggle through the question, then is it kind of okay?
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean… Well, if I’m a victim of a scam, how would I explain that to her? That Julio is out in the parking lot waiting for me?
SPEAKER 07 :
There’s a Nigerian prince who emailed me and told me to leave it in an envelope.
SPEAKER 06 :
But that’s my business.
SPEAKER 07 :
It is.
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s my business. It’s my money. She has no right to know how I’m spending my money. And this is, I got nine texts. Now, here’s another one. They are making sure that people of an older age. aren’t being scammed. Hey, you’re blocked, texter. Never again. You’re done. Even the texters are looking out for you. They asked me at McDonald’s the other day if I wanted the senior discount and I stormed out.
SPEAKER 07 :
But you’re eligible for the senior discount.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don’t want the senior discount. I don’t want AARP. I’ve been taking those bad boys since I’m 55. I’ve been taking senior discounts for 12 years proudly. I’m not acknowledging it. I’m not acknowledging it. I’m 39. I am 39 years old. So anyway, thanks for all the advice. I mean, look, Tracy’s all fired up about my producer. She said I would march in there today and take all my money out of that bank. When I went to the other bank— Maybe it’s the law. Maybe they have to. I don’t know. No. What? To take $4,000? You can’t take money out of your own account without them asking? I don’t know.
SPEAKER 07 :
One of two things are true. It’s none of her business. Either the bank has this as a policy, and they’re just being nosy, or there is some regulation that requires them to do so.
SPEAKER 06 :
Big brother. Well, Trump will fix it. I’ll call President Trump next week. Yes, indeed. I’ll be in D.C. I’ll stop over at the Oval Office and say, please fix the bank. Hey, I didn’t hear—let’s get into some Armageddon stuff. Hmm. I didn’t hear, I was on a conference call when you were talking about Governor Abbott ordering the flags to be at full staff. Yep. I was getting confused. Mast is on a ship. Staff is. Full staff. Full staff rather than half staff. I believe President Trump doesn’t like the flags being half staff. Correct. I have to confess, I must have a blind spot on this. And I didn’t hear your take on it. Mark, from my perspective, I don’t understand how flags at half-staff for a president who just died is in any way, shape, or form disrespectful to Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s not.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I do believe that putting them up at full-staff is disrespectful to Carter.
SPEAKER 07 :
But that’s not either. Do you think there’s anybody – here’s the logic for putting them at full-staff. It is a celebratory day in our country on a not singular, but on an incredibly rare moment of either transfer or continuation of power. It’s a celebration of everything that’s American for one day. We’re going to reflect that celebratory spirit by having the flags at full staff. And then the following day, they’re right back down. Tack on a day at the end if you want to for President Carter. There is zero, zero disrespect of Carter intended by this. Zero.
SPEAKER 06 :
I guess. I mean, do you think it’s disrespectful for Trump to have them at half staff? I don’t. How does it diminish the inauguration in any way?
SPEAKER 07 :
Because the flags at half staff indicate a stance of mourning, which we are in the aftermath of the Carter death, nationally speaking. And that seems like a disconnect from the celebratory spirit of the I get it. Here’s the thing that he really doesn’t like. He loves the fact that that every Trump hater loves the flags at half staff because they’re in a stance of mourning because I get it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER 07 :
So there’s no wrong answer. I think you can you can take either side on that, I think. And so, well, here’s a good answer.
SPEAKER 06 :
That’s sort of it. Let’s salute an American hero. Let’s salute a brave, courageous entertainer named Carrie Underwood, who without a doubt is one of the biggest breakthrough stars in America, who is going to be at the inauguration singing America the Beautiful. Mark, that’s a big deal. Do you understand that he’s only had people like – no disrespect intended for people like Kid Rock – But he’s not exactly an A-lister. They’re not exactly A-listers. This is an A-lister. And incidentally, she’s getting buried by a lot of people.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because modern country is, this is not your granddad’s country. This is not, you know, Hank Jr. and Hank Snow.
SPEAKER 06 :
That’s right. They’re more woke than they used to be. But nonetheless… What a beautiful, beautiful gesture, and good for her, and I’m glad she has the guts to do it. And finally, have you seen the video that’s gone viral, and they’ve identified the guy, the Philadelphia Eagles fan berating the Packers fan Sunday?
SPEAKER 07 :
I didn’t see I didn’t see what was done. I saw people say that the post I saw said it was a freeze frame of the guy who said, I’m an Eagles fan. He said, I’m all about, you know, getting into it in a kind of a playful way with visiting fans. It’s what we’re known for. But this was wrong and shouldn’t have happened. And I confess I did not know what the person did. So.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, in a nutshell, and the guy’s been identified. They know who he is now and where he works. He called her filthy names. He called her horrible names. And he’s an Eagles fan. Now, let me just tell you, that’s the least… They’re kind of known for this. Oh, that’s the least surprising story I’ve ever heard in my life.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s the stadium you least want to go into wearing the regalia of the other team.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that’s amazing you said that. I posted this on X, 30 seconds. Years ago, my son Matthew… who is a diehard devoted Dallas Cowboys fan, wanted to see the Cowboys play the Eagles in Philadelphia. And he said, Dad, and I said, okay, let’s go. He goes, and I’m going to wear my jersey. I said, Matt, let me tell you something. That kid at 13 learned more about the, well, the human anatomy. So he did it? Oh, we did it. And it was one of the most miserable afternoons of my life.
SPEAKER 01 :
I know.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I thought, how these grown men, and it was almost all men, wasn’t a lot of women, but there were some women, how these grown men want to berate a 13-year-old boy for sitting there in the stands.
SPEAKER 07 :
And it’s a half of 1% of the crowd, too. Please, how many people?
SPEAKER 06 :
I don’t know.
SPEAKER 07 :
Eagles fans are a different breed, man.
SPEAKER 06 :
They are. You’ve seen them at Texas Stadium, Cowboy Stadium. I mean, they’re beyond. And so this guy, but this guy’s life is ruined. I mean, already his employer, and he works, check this out, he works in the hospitality industry. So there’s some irony for you, but not a lot of hospitality.
SPEAKER 07 :
You can’t start a talk show when we’re already late, but should they lose that gig? I mean, this is so tough in the social media world. It’s tough.
SPEAKER 06 :
The guy’s a world-class jerk, clearly. Of course. And she was just a fan. I know. And it was anything she was doing, I don’t think. I’m just wearing Packer stuff. Yeah, but you know what happens. Aren’t the Eagles the only ones that have a judge and a courtroom and a jail in their stadium?
SPEAKER 07 :
For adjudication of crime.
SPEAKER 06 :
They booed Santa Claus. They’re nuts. All right, man.
SPEAKER 05 :
Download the podcast and hear all of Mike and Mark’s conversations at MikeOnline.com for the Eminem experience.
